June 20, 2009The Grocery Shopping Network Helps
Ann Cross Mersereau Middle School Promote
Healthy Living
In order to support the development of communities facing health and wellness issues, the Grocery Shopping Network has provided the Ann Cross Mersereau Middle School with booklets of selected recipes from their recipe portal UCook.com
Ann Cross Mersereau Middle School, Middle School 206, is pleased to announce that it will be hosting their Third Annual Health and Multicultural Community Fair on Saturday June 20, 2009. This event will provide the community with access to vital resources for health and cultural development. This event will also celebrate the multicultural roots of the school and community while showcasing the achievements of Ann Cross students and staff.
"Our school and community are significantly immigrant and Hispanic and through this fair we are hoping that new horizons would be opened up for our students and members of this very disadvantaged community in order to foster an enhanced quality of life. Simultaneously, we expect that the fair would serve to foster self-esteem and develop a greater appreciation of what it means to live in a multicultural community," said a spokes person for the planning committee.
The event will feature over 30 exhibitions, live music, entertainment, games, tons of giveaways, cultural exhibitions, displays honoring student achievements and activities as well as a food court that will serve our favorite summer time treats.
The vendor exhibitions featured at the fair will showcase services vital to community development. The exhibitions will cover a wide array of topics including: Healthcare, immigration, teenage pregnancy, wellness issues, legal issues, housing issues, government services, substance abuse issues, life issues, various disability issues and recreational issues.
In order to support the development of communities facing health and wellness issues, the Grocery Shopping Network has provided the Ann Cross Mersereau Middle School with booklets of selected recipes from their recipe portal UCook.com. The recipes provided by GSN offer healthy alternatives to today's favorite summertime dishes, and help the youth learn about new ways to eat their favorite foods while increasing their nutritional value.
This year MS 206 is inaugurating a special annual award that will be presented to an enterprising partner or strong supporter of the school. This award is open to any entity or individual whose efforts separate them from our other generous supporters.
Individuals seeking further information or organizations and entities that would like to participate in the fair please call the school at 718-584-1570 and ask for Mr. Daniel Mozoub, Ms. Tracy Moret or Mr. Annan Boodram.
June 12, 2009GIANT Food Stores Unveil Integrated Coupons with Grocery Shopping Network
Customers Have the Ability to Shop for Manufacturer Coupon Offers at GiantFoodStores.com
Grocery Shopping Network announced today that manufacturer coupons supplied by partner Coupons, Inc. are now available on-line for GIANT Food Stores customers. By registering at GiantFoodStores.com, customers can browse a coupons page and easily add coupon items to their shopping list. Manufacturer coupons will automatically print out when they print their shopping list.
GIANT uses Grocery Shopping Networks personalization engine to build weekly ads for each customer who has a loyalty card. Based on information from a customer's loyalty card (Bonus Card), the website will display shopper favorites that are on sale and will align coupon offers with sale items, providing the customer with the lowest price on their favorite brands and items.
GiantFoodStores.com allows shoppers to sort their shopping list by aisle number allowing customers to navigate their store with ease. This feature is highly useful when new shoppers visit GIANT with a list enabling them to use their shopping list like a map. With the addition of coupons printed off with the lists, shopping at GIANT has never been more time and cost efficient.
Andy Robinson, CEO Grocery Shopping Network commented "Working with GIANT has given our company the ability to create a new standard in grocery shopper planning. " He went on to say, "GIANT continues to lead the way in technology innovation for the benefit of their grocery customers."
"We know that family budgets are stretched thin so our objective is to offer as much value as possible to our customers," said Erik Keptner, senior vice president for marketing and communication. "Relevant on-line coupons will make it easier than ever for GIANT customers to shop and save."
June 9, 2009Print Advertising In Freefall, Online Innovations Cushion The Impact On Grocery Retailers
Over $150B dollars are spent annually on consumer advertising. With the declining readership of print media, internet advertising is leading the way for consumer packaged goods with a growth rate of 14.4% in 2008. This percentage increase reflects a total rise in spending of $1.19B dollars.
Grocery stores have traditionally implemented their advertising efforts through print, radio, and television media channels. "In today's changing world, progressive grocery retailers are adapting their overall advertising strategy to include a diverse mixture of media," said Andrew Robinson CEO and Founder of GSN. "By captivating and engaging their clients through interactive media, grocery retail operators are increasing the transparency of their inventory and the effectiveness of their web based advertising platforms."
With the innovation of TiVo and similar products, consumers are skipping the commercials during their favorite television programs when they are at home. Innovations such as satellite radio and mp3 players have lead consumers of this generation to listen to traditional radio stations less often while in transit. Pop-up blocking software and spam blockers eliminate many advertisements before they reach their targets. This is creating a more competitive environment for advertisers.
The increased availability of online news sources in addition to the rising costs of print media have allowed the internet to quickly become the leading provider of information to the general public. Innovating tradition is a way of life in America that has provided the growth and success needed to sustain our nation.
Consumers are exposed to a constant bombardment of advertisements that are not relevant to their product search or personal needs. "The Grocery Shopping Network (GSN) is at the convergence point of consumer awareness and Trade advertising," said Andrew Robinson CEO and Founder of GSN. "The Grocery Shopping Network reduces the degrees of separation between initial consumer impressions and their decision to purchase a product."
Through innovative proprietary software, the Grocery Shopping Network has enabled grocery retailers to increase the effectiveness of their advertising programs. With the ability to link consumers with the products they need at the point of sale, combined with discounts that are not listed by retailers to the general public, The Grocery Shopping Network has established itself at the forefront of online grocery retail advertising.
Additionally, GSN's unique approach allows for members to keep up with all of the items they need electronically. This increases time efficiency and cost savings that help members survive through tough times.
"For most Families, saving $20-$30 dollars a week can be the difference between providing their children the tools they need to succeed and economic failure," said Andrew Robinson CEO and Founder of GSN. "After experiencing the effects of the current economic crisis, people want to spend more quality time building relationships with their families and saving money."
GSN's proprietary software allows families to balance their nutritional needs while saving hard earned money. Clients also have the opportunity to utilize UCook.com in conjunction with GSN's proprietary software suite. UCook.com's database includes over 60,000 recipes which allow users to not only plan their meals accurately, but also in accordance with any special dietary needs they may have. This combination of services offered via the internet allows members the unique opportunity to find savings, products, and also their personal shopping history in one place.
The growth of the Grocery Shopping Network is a result of experience, research, and strategic planning initiated and implemented by visionary leadership. Houlihan Smith & Company, a Chicago based specialized investment banking firm, has assisted the Grocery Shopping Network in their continued business growth by raising capital for the company.
April 15, 2009Homeland Stores and Grocery Shopping Network Partner for Complete Grocery Web Solution
Homeland Stores will Bring Personalization to its Customer Base
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today Grocery Shopping Network announced that it has added the Oklahoma region with Homeland, United, and select Country Mart stores. Grocery Shopping Network uses propriety technology along with the retailer’s data to scour the weekly specials in-store and in the circular to find only the relevant items for each opt-in household. This is a great opportunity to enhance their marketing by using their data to deliver personalized advertising to consumers who visit their website. Currently, Grocery Shopping Network is making over 300 million suggestions weekly for over 14 million loyalty card holders. These numbers are expected to increase with the addition of these Oklahoma stores.
Homeland Stores will be overhauling their website in the coming months with an upgraded homepage and weekly specials area. Upon completion, consumers will be able to get relevant sales that are chosen based on purchase history. For instance, if a customer regularly purchases orange juice, when they sign onto the website, they will find coupons and in-store specials for orange juice based on their purchasing history. Consumers should see huge time and money savings from this new web initiative with Homeland, United, and Country Mart stores and Grocery Shopping Network.
Andy Robinson, CEO, Grocery Shopping Network commented, “It is great to add a new client that will maximize all of our current offerings. These stores will be able to better serve each customer and build relationships through the web on a one-to-one level.”
Philip Payment, Vice-President Marketing, HAC Retail added, “We look forward to enhancing our online marketing with a fresh new look to our website. Furthermore, with expanding our reach throughout Oklahoma, we are able to provide added money savings and time efficiency to more of our customers.”
About Homeland Stores
HAC, Inc. operates 75 stores in Oklahoma and one in Haysville, KS, under the banners of Homeland, Country Mart, and United Supermarkets. Their corporate headquarters is in Oklahoma City, and they employ over 4.000 associates. The company is the second largest grocery retailer in the state of Oklahoma, and the largest traditional grocery store format operator in the state.
March 2, 2009AOL Food Partners with Grocery Shopping Network on Recipes and Cooking Videos
AOL Food is partnering with Grocery Shopping Network to provide AOL Food users access to the UCook.com recipes, wine pairings, and cooking-related video content. AOL Food, http://food.aol.com, reaches more than 4.7 million unique visitors per month, according to January 2009 comScore Media Metrix data.
Grocery Shopping Network (GSN) owns and operates UCook.com, a recipe portal with more than 65,000 kitchen-tested recipes with nutritional and dietary content. AOL Food users will be able to access the many features that UCook.com offers. In addition to the recipe database, UCook.com also provides users a library of educational cooking videos ranging from “peeling tomatoes” to “making a roux.”
“AOL Food is excited to partner with the Grocery Shopping Network to provide consumers a solid, reliable and searchable recipe database,” said Tanya Mancini, editorial director, AOL Living. “AOL Food chose GSN’s UCook.com because of the quality of the recipes and video content. The variety of recipes that UCook.com provides is so vast and vibrant that we really feel our consumers will have an enjoyable experience as they find everything from home-style American cooking to international fare.”
Andy Robinson, GSN CEO, said that “Our Company is thrilled that our recipes will be seen by more and more foodies on a daily basis. It is exciting to work with a top Internet destination like AOL Food to expose their audience to more than 45,000 new recipes with nutritional and dietary content.”
AOL Food is part of the AOL Living network of sites. AOL Living, http://living.aol.com, is one of the top four online sites for lifestyles, with more than 18.7 million monthly unique visitors, according to January 2009 comScore Media Metrix data. AOL Food and AOL Living are part of AOL’s MediaGlow publishing unit.
About MediaGlow
MediaGlow, AOL’s publishing business unit formed in early 2009, centralizes AOL’s programming efforts, including AOL.com, AOL’s content verticals and commerce and marketplace channels, dozens of niche sites, and state-of-the-art studios in Los Angeles and New York City. In all, MediaGlow operates more than 70 sites and attracts more than 70 million unique visitors each month, according to comScore Media Metrix. It plans to launch more than 30 new sites in 2009. MediaGlow, along with AOL’s advertising business, Platform-A, and its social media business, People Networks, represent the three core businesses for AOL.
February 16, 2009The GSN Ad Network Click Through Rates ("CTR") and Conversion Rates Perform up to 800% Greater than Traditional Online Campaigns
Grocery Shopping Network Shows Offline Lift for Food Manufacturers
Grocery Shopping Network is a digital advertising network that focuses on delivering relevant content to consumers and an unparalleled advertising platform for packaged goods advertisers. Today the company released the results from an online campaign that was run in their network. Grocery Shopping Network Click Through Rates ("CTR") were up to 8 times those of the overall campaign results. Additionally the Conversion Rates were 3 times better than the overall campaign result which illustrates the power of the GSN Ad Network(TM) to deliver results surpassing the food and more specifically, the grocery category.
Grocery Shopping Network has a unique grocery ad network due to the ability to take online campaigns and match them with offline results. The ability to do this is gleaned from over 15 million loyalty card subscribers that come from partnerships with grocery stores. With this data, the company can also target category users of specific packaged goods products. These insights continue to help the success of this new online vertical in the grocery food category. The success of this campaign proves out the efficiency of driving media spend through an advertising vertical that shows results from online campaigns with verification of offline sales lift.
Steve Lozic from Carat said, "The campaign that we ran with Grocery Shopping Network produced results that proved the site to be a top performer for the initiative. Since this campaign performed beyond our expectations, we will be looking for more opportunities to show our advertisers that we have found a vertical ad network that works for the food category."
Grocery Shopping Network, CEO, Andy Robinson was pleased to say "We are enthused to announce the success of our CPG campaigns. This vertical advertising network is a new and emerging opportunity for packaged goods companies to really see a direct ROI to in store purchases. This campaign and many others have all yielded substantial offline lift when using our partner websites and content."
January 13, 2009Haggen, Inc. & Grocery Shopping Network Launch Two Partner Websites in Pacific Northwest
Haggen.com and Top-Foods.com are Live with Grocery Shopping Network
Grocery Shopping Network announces that its partner in the Pacific Northwest has gone live with the latest grocery web technology. The launch of these partner sites comes at a perfect time for this chain enabling them to enhance service to their customers in the most efficient way possible.
Other chains that have added this customer friendly shopping solution have experienced sales gains and increased customer loyalty. GSN’s tools will give consumers online access to unadvertised specials, available varieties of products, recipes, coupons, weekly circular items, and more. With GSN's quick and easy to use shopping list builder, planning a trip to the grocery store has never been easier.
“We’re pleased with the launch of the new weekly savings area on our websites using Grocery Shopping Network’s software solution,” said Emily Mallahan, spokesperson for Haggen, Inc. “We look forward to telling our customers about all of the wonderful enhancements we have implemented.”
Andy Robinson, CEO, was pleased to say “There is a consumer frenzy for the best shopping solution and Grocery Shopping Network will strive to cater to consumer demand. We will also continue to build grocery websites so consumers have the ability to shop the entire store according to their preferences and historical purchases.”
About Haggen, Inc.
Haggen, Inc., founded in 1933, operates 33 supermarkets in Washington and Oregon under the Haggen Food & Pharmacy and TOP Food & Drug names. Headquartered in Bellingham, Wash., it is the sixth-largest privately owned company in Washington. For more information, visit www.Haggen.com and www.Top-Foods.com.
January 12, 2009HighJump Software Announces In-Store Fulfillment Solution for Retailers
HighJump Warehouse Advantage for In-Store Fulfillment provides retailers with all the tools needed to set up an in-store fulfillment operation
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HighJump Software, a global provider of supply chain execution solutions, announces the availability of a supply chain solution that enhances the online shopping experience and fulfillment of customer orders. Offering an in-store fulfillment option to retail customers is a growing trend that offers convenience, cost savings and an extra level of service to increase customer loyalty and set retailers apart from their competitors.
HighJump Warehouse Advantage for In-Store Fulfillment provides retailers with all the tools needed to set up an in-store fulfillment operation, including order capture, store mapping, work queue management, wave planning and real-time inventory tracking. By leveraging the flexible and adaptable tier-one HighJump warehouse management system (WMS) solution configured with comprehensive in-store fulfillment capabilities, HighJump Software works behind the scenes to create a satisfying online shopping experience as well as a tightly managed in-store order fulfillment process.
To deliver the online shopping component of the solution, HighJump has teamed with Grocery Shopping Network (GSN). GSN brings together the Web and in-store supermarket shopping experience by providing retailers’ Web sites with software products that integrate shopping list building, recipes and meal planning with relevant, focused advertising content. Once a customer has submitted an order online, it will be routed to HighJump Warehouse Advantage for order fulfillment. Associates at the retail grocery location then pick the order and either have it ready for curbside pick-up at a customer-selected date and time, or extend the solution to include turn-by-turn directions for customer home delivery.
“Today’s retail consumer is more crunched for time than ever, resulting in the increasing popularity of convenient online shopping,” said Chad Collins, Vice President of Marketing and Strategy, HighJump Software. “Savvy retailers and grocers are leveraging this trend and offering consumers flexibility through home delivery and store pickup using advanced technologies that turn the store into an automated fulfillment center.”
About HighJump Software Inc.
Forward-thinking companies entrust HighJump Software to power their supply chains. HighJump Software simplifies the art and business of creating, selling and moving products across global networks. HighJump Software helps more than 1,300 customers worldwide drive growth and manage change. http://www.highjumpsoftware.com
January 6, 2009K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc. Joins Grocery Shopping Network for Complete Online Advertising Solution
Grocery Shopping Network is Food City’s Exclusive Web Provider
Grocery Shopping Network announced today that K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc. a privately held company with 101 stores and its corporate headquarters in Abingdon, Virginia is the latest grocery chain to join in GSN’s Ad Network. Operating under the Food City banner, K-VA-T will implement all of the company’s online planning tools. The move comes at a time when consumers demand value from their primary grocery store. As competition continues to change and consumer’s use of the Internet continues to rise, K-VA-T and Grocery Shopping Network are working to launch the new component of Food City’s website in early 2009.
Consumers that currently use www.foodcity.com can expect a big upgrade to the weekly savings area in the coming months. Food City will be adding personalization which takes past purchase history and looks at what’s on sale this week for me and will deliver a unique weekly ad to each household or card holder that opts in to the service. Beyond personalization the company will enhance their current online circular with recipe suggestions, manufacturer coupon integration, browse the aisles of the store, and much more.
Ron Bonacci, Director of Loyalty Marketing, Food City said "After many years in the loyalty marketing business for grocery chains, it is apparent to me that Grocery Shopping Network has the best technology to enhance our online presence as well as leveraging our vast loyalty card database. We are very excited to use the new technology provided through our partnership with GSN. It will better serve all of Food City’s customers on a one to one level through the web by taking the hassle of out finding everything we offer that is relevant to them and their household from our web store."
Andy Robinson, CEO, Grocery Shopping Network commented "We are very excited to begin working with K-VA-T on implementation of the new Food City web solution. The longstanding success of the K-VA-T organization is a compliment to Grocery Shopping Network and we will enjoy serving the needs of their valued customers through the best digital grocery shopping tools available today."
About K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc.
K-VA-T Food Stores operates 101 retail food outlets throughout the tri-state regions of Southeast Kentucky, Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee. K-VA-T ranked 40th on the latest (2008) Progressive Grocer's list of America's 50 Largest Supermarket Chains, 55th on Supermarket News "Top 75 North American Food Retailers" (January, 2008) with over 1.6 billion dollars in sales and 269th on Forbes Magazine's "List of the largest privately-held companies in 2007".
November 12, 2008Grocery Shopping Network Announces the Addition of Bill Blaney as Manager of Retail Sales
Grocers Continue to See Success with Stronger Web Offerings
Today Grocery Shopping Network announced that it has added Bill Blaney to the retail sales team. Bill brings to GSN an extensive sales and marketing background within the grocery industry. Blaney’s career began at Kraft Foods where over his twelve years at Kraft he held various executive sales positions. After Kraft Foods, Blaney entered the electronic marketing field and spent five years as Director of Retail Marketing at Catalina Marketing Corporation, eleven years as Vice President of Business Development at Inter-Act e-marketing, S&H Solutions and most recently with the Pay By Touch Company.
Grocery Shopping Network continues to grow its retailer base at a staggering rate and recently added its first international grocery chain. The impetus for GSN expanding its retail sales force is grocers’ growing demand for the company’s leading Web site solutions for online planning and shopping. This addition will ensure GSN continues to provide its expanding retail grocery base with the best technology and service available in the marketplace. Bill joins an accomplished sales team led by Vic Tortorici, S.V.P. of Sales.
“Bill is an important addition to the Grocery Shopping Network Team. He will bring relationship skills that are important for forging positive rapport with the retail grocery community. We are excited to get Bill up to speed and spreading the message of this fast growing area of grocery”, said Andy Robinson, CEO of Grocery Shopping Network, Inc.
October 20, 2008Coupons Inc. and Grocery Shopping Network See 58% Growth in Coupon Usage
Grocery Shoppers Save Tens of Thousands of Dollars Monthly Using the Integrated Solution
Grocery Shopping Network and Coupons Inc. have had a unique partnership for over two years. Over the course of this alliance, a number of enhancements have been made that make it easier than ever for consumers to save time and money with manufacturer’s coupons. Today, consumers using a website powered by Grocery Shopping Network are able to quickly find money saving manufacturer’s coupons (sorted by department) by simply clicking on a tab entitled “Coupons.” From the “Coupons” tab, one click adds the item and the coupon to the customer’s shopping list. Alternatively, if a customer adds an item to his/her shopping list from other sections of the website, and a manufacturer’s coupon is available for the product, GSN’s embedding technology sees to it that the coupon is automatically printed when the customer prints the shopping list.
Grocery shoppers enjoy the ease of use; they’re printing more manufacturers’ coupons each month and saving more money. Grocery Shopping Network has seen a significant growth in coupon prints—usage is up 58% year over year. Sarah, one of many grocery shoppers using a supermarket website powered by GSN, says it all, “I especially like that I can create my grocery list online and print it off along with manufacturers’ coupons. It saves me a lot of time! Thanks for the update!”
Coupons Inc. leads the industry in online coupon technology. Every coupon that is printed from Coupons Inc. carries a unique ID that is encrypted. Grocery Shopping Network has used this technology by incorporating it into their licensed content model. This gives grocery retailers that utilize GSN’s services the most advanced coupon technology available in the marketplace, the capability to brand coupons specifically to their grocery chain, and the ability to offer their customers the ultimate coupon experience.
Andy Robinson, Grocery Shopping Network CEO, said “Our relationship with Coupons Inc. has been a great experience that allows our clients and their customers to take grocery planning and shopping to a whole new level. In the past, consumers would have to search for store discounts and coupons in a plethora of places. Now, with Grocery Shopping Network’s tools for grocers, everything people need to plan a trip to the grocery store can be found on the store’s website, before they enter their primary grocery location.”
Steven Boal, Coupons Inc. CEO commented “Grocery Shopping Network provides an outstanding experience for grocery planning and shopping online. With Coupons Inc.’s offers incorporated in GSN clients’ websites, the consumer gets access to manufacturer offers that encourage trial and savings on your favorite consumer products.”
August 26, 2008Strack and Van Til Supermarkets Announce Latest Multimedia Experience For Their Customers Through The Grocery Stores' Web Sites
The Stores' Web Sites, www.strackandvantil.com, www.ultra-foods.com, and www.town-country-market.com, Make Saving Money Easy
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Strack and Van Tils' Web sites have integrated everything a consumer needs to plan an affordable shopping trip. The Web sites make it easy to create a shopping list using: the interactive weekly circular, hundreds of dollars worth of money saving coupons, recipes that fit specific dietary preferences, and cooking videos. No longer does a person have to write a list on the back of an envelope, sort through pages and pages of papers for relevant coupons to clip, and come up with meal ideas; with these grocery store websites consumers can now interact with the weekly advertisements like never before! Once a customer has added all desired items, coupons, and recipe ingredients to the list, one additional click will print out the coupons and the list, with all items sorted by department.
Strack and Van Til's Tim McInnis stated "Our goal is to give our customers the best shopping experience available on the web. It was great working with GSN, their expertise and products have put us ahead of our competition, but most of all, our customer's just love using our Web sites."
Andy Robinson, Grocery Shopping Network CEO stated "As more grocers adopt ways to service their customers in such a rapidly changing area such as the internet, it's nice to provide ways that service customers while helping the grocer merchandise their store with their website. Now consumers can find deals, coupons, and plan meals just by going to their grocer's website."
About Strack and Van Til
Strack & Van Til, a subsidiary of Chicago-based grocery distributor Central Grocers Cooperative, operates 30 retail locations in and around the Chicago and Northern Indiana area. The grocery store websites can be found at www.strackandvantil.com, www.ultra-foods.com, and www.town-country-market.com.
August 18, 2008Grocery Shopping Network Promotes Duane Kolsrud to Director of Client Performance
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Grocery Shopping Network, Inc. announced today that it has promoted Duane Kolsrud to Director of Client Performance. Duane is responsible for managing client account representatives, introducing new ways to increase Web performance, and overseeing all relationships between Grocery Shopping Network and its clients.
"Duane Kolsrud has played a crucial role in the exceptional performance and execution of clients' Web sites, from sale to launch," stated CEO Andy Robinson. "All of us at GSN are excited with the new ideas and programs Duane will be initiating in his expanded role."
Before joining Grocery Shopping Network, Duane served as an executive at Russell Stover Candies and played a pivotal role in bringing their products into mass retailers and grocers such as Meijer, Kroger, and K-Mart. During his tenure with Russell Stover Candies, the company tripled its overall sales volume. Duane then turned his focus to loyalty marketing at Carlson Marketing Group and was an integral part of creating, launching and managing the first national points based electronic loyalty rewards program, Gold Points. Mr. Kolsrud's extensive experience in managing relationships with food manufacturers and retailers coupled with his expertise in loyalty marketing make him a valuable member of the Grocery Shopping Network team.
Since Duane has joined Grocery Shopping Network, the company has seen 400% traffic growth in their clients' Web sites in 3 years. Duane has been instrumental in managing marketing programs, public relations, and many technology updates for Grocery Shopping Network's key accounts.
Grocery Shopping Network takes an active role in creating customer awareness with all of their clients. Since grocery stores continue to build their online capabilities, Grocery Shopping Network uses their Internet, grocery, and wholesale experience to assist Web managers with a constantly changing Internet environment. Grocery store Web traffic continues to grow at an astounding pace and Grocery Shopping Network provides its clients with the best technology, marketing programs, and customer service to ensure they capitalize on this growing audience.
July 14, 2008Grocery Shopping Network Adds BI-LO's 220 Stores to Their Growing Ad Network
BI-LO Adds GSN's Vast Recipe Database to Its New Customer-Centric Website
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Grocery Shopping Network (GSN) announced today that it has added BI-LO stores, which operate in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee, to its list of grocery store website partners. Grocery Shopping Network will be supporting the 220-store chain on a new BI-LO initiative – MY BI-LO, a website designed to be an "online personal shopping assistant."
Consumers can use their BI-LO BONUSCARD at www.bi-lo.com to set up their own MY BI-LO profile which then enables them to find recipes to meet their specific dietary needs, watch cooking demos, plan their next shopping trip, and much more. The Grocery Shopping Network's immense recipe database, which includes helpful nutritional and dietary content on more than 64,000 recipes, is one of the main features of the new site.
"MY BI-LO will be a great addition to our main website because it enables consumers to customize the information they want to receive from us, and it fosters ongoing dialogue with our customers," explained John Conroy, BI-LO Senior Manager of Consumer Marketing. "The Grocery Shopping Network's recipe database, which has thousands of recipes that fit very specific dietary requirements, is a great addition to our site. GSN is a leading edge web strategy company, and we look forward to working with them to make MY BI-LO one of the most consumer-centric websites in our industry."
In addition to checking out the thousands of recipes on GSN and developing a personalized weekly meal planner, MY BI-LO visitors will be able to refill or transfer prescriptions, get coupons, order flowers, watch cooking videos, check their BONUSCARD points, and much more.
Vic Tortorici, Senior Vice President of Sales for GSN, said, "BI-LO is a great addition to GSN's ad network. We're working with a great operations team at BI-LO, and we're confident they will execute flawlessly on all the GSN tools and solutions."
About BI-LO
Headquartered in Mauldin, S.C., BI-LO operates 220 supermarkets in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee and employs approximately 16,200 people.
June 26, 2008Kings Super Markets Delivers Relevance to Their Customers at Kingswebsite.com
Grocery Shopping Network Implements World Class Personalization System at Kingswebsite.com
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kings Super Markets and Grocery Shopping Network have teamed up to offer Kings' customers the best Web site technology available in the marketplace. Customers can visit www.kingswebsite.com and find everything they need to plan their shopping trip and create a customized shopping list. On the Web site, customers find an interactive weekly ad linked to thousands of recipes, meal and product suggestions, in-store specials, cooking videos, coupons and more. Those customers with a Kings' loyalty card are able to view a new, personalized grocery ad every week, "My Personalized Specials." The "My Personalized Specials" section of the Web site contains product specials that are specific and relevant to each household's unique shoppingneeds.
Cheryl Good, Manager, Community Relations/Consumer Affairs at Kings Super Markets, commented on the new personalization technology available at kingswebsite.com, "The Web site is an exceptional tool enabling our customers to save time and money. They can discover all the store's offers before walking the aisles. The site allows customers to easily create a shopping list full of relevant products, coupons, and specials—both advertised and unadvertised— without having to access multiple sources."
Grocery Shopping Network CEO Andy Robinson stated "Kingswebsite.com has the latest technology available to manage hundreds of thousands of household preferences, down to a product and attribute level. Now Kings Super Market will remember what you buy and tell you when it's on sale. Working with Kings Super Markets has been great and we're ecstatic Kingswebsite.com fulfills the needs and wants of their customers!"
About Kings Super Markets
Kings Super Markets, Inc., based in Parsippany, New Jersey has 26 stores serving northern New Jersey and Long Island, New York. From specialty and fresh, restaurant-quality prepared foods to high-quality produce, meat, seafood, baked goods and grocery, Kings has been providing unparalleled quality, service and value to consumers for 72 years. Passion for great food is not measured only by what's on the shelves at Kings, but also by the variety of classes offered in either of the Kings cooking studios.
June 23, 2008C.V.'s Family Foods Joins Grocery Shopping Network and Market Basket Rewards to Create Enhanced in Store and Web Experience for Their Customers
GSN and MBR Team Up to Create One of a Kind Offering
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--C.V.'s Family Foods in Northwest Arkansas chose to enhance their web presence by adding dynamic tools and content from Grocery Shopping Network ("GSN"). Long time grocer and community involved Combs family decided that the market is here for customers to use the Web site with the latest online tools and options for grocery and meal planning.
GSN will be adding clickable ads, coupons, recipes, videos, and eventually personalization to all C.V.'s locations. C.V.'s is GSN's first retail partner that is utilizing an exceptional loyalty card program that is endorsed by GSN, Market Basket Rewards ("MBR"). C.V.'s currently offers consumers the opportunity to redeem loyalty rewards on their Web site with their partner MBR. Now, in addition to having the opportunity for great rewards, C.V.'s consumers will be able to access personalized savings all the way down to unadvertised specials via the Web site.
Chuck Combs of C.V.'s was excited to say "The initiative with MBR, GSN, and C.V.'s grocery stores will give our customers something that no one else can offer in our market areas. The customer really enjoys rewards and low prices, which is something we all bring when working together for the customer."
Adam Napell, VP of MBR stated, "Our partnership with C.V.'s and GSN will bring together a powerful combination of electronic marketing and incentives. For the last year we have been motivating C.V.'s shoppers to spend more through rewards and email incentives. We will continue rewarding customers when they visit C.V.'s Web site to take advantage of GSN's customized coupons, specials, shopping lists and a recipe data base that is second-to-none. It is Chuck's vision to continue to be a market leader and position C.V.'s for sales growth in the years to come."
Andy Robinson, GSN's CEO said, "This initiative will be a great stepping stone to introducing this program to other grocers in our network along with grocers that aren't utilizing GSN and MBR currently. Working with C.V.'s Family Foods is exciting because everyone involved is very engaged in creating the best solution for the end user, the grocery shopper."
About C.V.'s Family Foods
In 1981, C.V. Combs opened his first C.V.'s Family Foods in Paris, Arkansas. Since then, 13 stores now operate under the C.V.'s Family Foods banner. In 2004, he purchased 21 Marvin's Food Stores to bring the total to 34 locations throughout Northwest Arkansas. The company is now run by C.V.'s son Chuck, whose vision is to continue to grow the family business and to serve the communities in which they are located.
June 16, 2008Haggen, Inc. Selects Grocery Shopping Network to Increase the Power of Its TOP Food & Drug Website
Grocery Shopping Network Adds TOP Food & Drug stores to its Growing Network of Grocery Stores
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Grocery Shopping Network announces that Haggen, Inc., headquartered in Bellingham, Wash., has signed a contract to upgrade its website for its TOP Food & Drug stores with the latest technology available on the web for retail grocery stores, including industry leading personalization.
TOP Food & Drug currently has its weekly flyer online to view. The flyer will soon be upgraded to one-click to shopping list and recipe suggestions, including sale items with Grocery Shopping Network’s online tools. Also being added will be an extensive recipe database, coupons, and recipe videos. Integrating all these features will give TOP Food & Drug and its guests a faster and more fun planning experience prior to visiting the grocery store.
CEO Andy Robinson, commented, “Haggen, Inc. will be a great addition to the Grocery Shopping Network, not only because Haggen is a forward-looking company, but because the company will now be able to improve service to its customers on a one-to-one level.” Grocery Shopping Network will now have a wonderful presence in the Northwest quadrant of the United States. Andy continued by adding, “We are pleased to see the importance that grocery stores continue to put on the Internet and successfully leveraging the web as a primary communication medium.”
About Haggen, Inc.
Haggen, Inc. is a family owned organization headquartered in Washington state since 1933. Today it owns and operates 17 TOP Food & Drug locations in Washington, 15 Haggen Food and Pharmacy locations in Washington and Oregon and a Larry’s Market in Washington. The Haggen Corporation employs over 3,900 employees and is listed as one of the largest privately owned companies in Washington state.
May 19, 2008Grocery Shopping Network Now Produces Seven Million Personalized Ads for Loyalty Card Holders Every Week
Andrew Robinson, GSN CEO, Reflects on Architecting the Unparalleled Grocery Personalization System
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GSN initially launched its proprietary personalization engine in May 2005. Today, the engine builds over seven million household-specific ads on a weekly basis for clients including Giant Food Stores of Carlisle, Kings Supermarkets, Niemann Foods, Ukrop's, and others. With this engine, grocery stores are able to remember who their customers are, what they like, and tell them when their favorite items are on sale. Unlike less advanced engines, the GSN personalization engine goes beyond providing exact matches. "GSN's personalization engine is powerful because its algorithms take into account many variables when building household-specific offers and ads. Beyond the items a consumer normally purchases, the system also recommends products the consumer has not purchased, but is likely to purchase. This gives the consumer more savings opportunities and grocers the ability to expand category purchases and increase basket size," says Andy Robinson, Grocery Shopping Network CEO. The engine examines sale items in the store, both advertised and unadvertised, and through its proprietary system, provides a consumer with a unique weekly ad built just for his/her household.
The idea for the system struck Andy in the early 1990s. Andy was raising two young children and taking trips to the supermarket to fulfill the household's weekly grocery needs. Like many consumers, Andy wanted to maximize the value of every dollar spent. He often achieved this goal, but doing so meant spending extra time and effort finding the right products. During one of his weekly trips that was taking a little longer than normal, Andy asked himself, "Why doesn't the grocery store remember who I am, what I like, and let me know the items that are relevant to my household that are on sale?" That question led Andy Robinson to incorporate one of the first companies focused on providing websites that fulfill the needs of shoppers, grocery retailers, and consumer packaged goods companies, Grocery Shopping Network (f/k/a HomeTown Info, Inc) in April of 1996. Thanks to Andy's vision and leadership, GSN now provides grocery retailers with the most advanced website technology available in the marketplace.
Since its inception, the company has purchased and integrated $80 million worth of technology including UCook.com and Beeline. UCook.com was a standalone recipe portal with over 65,000 recipes searchable by course, prep time, ingredients, skill level and more. GSN repurposed the portal and integrated it into the company's software. Customers using a retail grocery website powered by GSN have access to all the recipes and features of the original Ucook.com website, but now GSN's software even suggests recipe ideas based on the grocery store's sale items. Beeline is a scoring engine that was developed by Symbol Technologies. With the acquisition, development, and integration of Beeline into GSN's existing technology, Andy knew he would soon be able to provide an answer to his original question.
Andy continues, "I'm extremely proud GSN was able to accomplish this challenge. The technology enables retailers to better serve customers on a one-to-one basis by providing offers that are specific and relevant to individual customers. The customer saves time and money. The retailer becomes more relevant to the customer because the retailer has provided the customer with more relevance. It's a win-win."
May 1, 2008Giant Food Stores Sees Website Traffic Increase 400% Because of a ''Super Shopping List''
Andrew Robinson, GSN CEO, Reflects on Architecting the Unparalleled Grocery Personalization System
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Giant Food Stores, a division of Royal Ahold, has increased monthly consumer website visits by 400% over the past year. The website (www.giantfoodstores.com) utilizes many aspects of Grocery Shopping Network's proprietary software. Erik Keptner, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Advertising at Giant stated, "Partnering with Grocery Shopping Network ("GSN") has allowed us to help our customers maximize their trip to the grocery store by doing their planning from the comfort of their own homes. A personalized shopping list, on-line recipes, easy access to weekly specials, and meal planning solutions take the guesswork out of grocery shopping by offering another convenient way to save time and money."
"Consumer adoption continues to exceed expectations," continued Keptner.
Andy Robinson, CEO of Grocery Shopping Network, commented, "It's a pleasure to work with a forward-thinking company like Giant Food Stores of Carlisle. They truly understand the importance and power of utilizing technology to increase sales and customer loyalty."
Giant's website is powered with GSN's leading software that enables a consumer to quickly create a shopping list via personalized offers, the weekly circular, a virtual pantry containing previous purchases, and a searchable database of over 64,000 recipes. One customer commented, "I love how it (the software) remembers what I buy, shows me personal offers, and helps me plan meals. It's fun and easy to plan an affordable shopping trip through the website. After I print out the list, all items are displayed based on department and aisle. My super shopping list saves me time and money!"
Giant has further enhanced customers' on-line options through the April launch of its Shop from Home feature now available at its Camp Hill, Pennsylvania store. Erik Keptner said, "We look forward to continuing to develop web-based tools that offer our customers convenient and customer-friendly shopping solutions."
About Giant Food Stores
Giant Food Stores, LLC, one of the leading supermarket operations in the U.S., currently operates stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia under the names of Giant Food Stores, Martin's Food Markets and FoodSource. As a company, Giant is proud to work with hundreds of local organizations in the communities it serves and has a long-standing commitment to eradicate hunger and improve the quality of life for children. For more information about Giant Food Stores, visit http://www.GiantFoodStores.com.
April 29, 2008Save Mart & Lucky Supermarkets Use the Internet to Help Consumers Stretch Their Grocery Dollar
The Stores’ Web sites, www.SaveMart.com and www.LuckySupermarkets.com, Make Saving Money Easy
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Save Mart and Lucky Supermarkets’ Web sites have integrated everything a consumer needs to plan an affordable shopping trip. The Web sites make it easy to create a shopping list using: the interactive weekly circular, hundreds of dollars worth of money saving coupons, recipes that fit specific dietary preferences, and unadvertised specials throughout the stores. No longer does a person have to write a list on the back of an envelope, sort through pages and pages of papers for relevant coupons to clip, and come up with meal ideas; with SaveMart.com and LuckySupermarkets.com planning a shopping trip is as easy as click and save! Once a customer has added all desired items, coupons, and recipe ingredients to the list, one additional click will print out the coupons and the list, with all items sorted by department.
Desiring to create the most advanced Web site of any grocer in California, Save Mart chose to partner with Grocery Shopping Network. Save Mart’s Vice President of Marketing, John Kelly, commented on the partnership, “When we launched our new Web sites we wanted to give our customers the best shopping experience available on the web. It was great working with GSN, their expertise and products have put us ahead of our competition, but most of all, our customers just love using our Web sites.”
Curt Lund, Chief Marketing Officer of the Grocery Shopping Network, stated, “We’re honored to have partners like Save Mart and Lucky Supermarkets that go above and beyond when servicing customers. Thanks to advances in GSN’s proprietary technology, customers can get everything they want in one place at one time…the supermarket’s website. Even managing your diet can be done now on SaveMart.com or LuckySupermarkets.com. Meal planning with a digital shopping list saves time, and with all the sale items and coupons available, it saves a lot of money as well. For customers of Save Mart and Lucky Supermarkets, it really is as easy as click and save!”
About Save Mart
Save Mart Supermarkets was founded January 17, 1952. The privately owned company operates 250 stores throughout Northern California and Northern Nevada under the banners of Save Mart, Lucky, S-Mart Foods, and FoodMaxx.
March 18, 2008Grocery Shopping Network and Upromise, Inc. Join Forces to Make College Dreams a Reality
You can earn free flights and hotel rooms when you shop, why not cash
for college? Grocery Shopping Network (GSN), a leading provider of
proprietary software to grocery store retailers, announces a new
partnership with Upromise® the largest college
savings rewards program. Now, at more than 21,000 grocery stores
that partner with Upromise and GSN, consumers can not only save money on
groceries, they can also earn and save money for college.
Through Upromise's Grocery program, members
can earn money back for college when they make everyday purchases on
thousands of eligible grocery, health and household items at
participating grocery and drug stores. GSN has added new functionality
that grocery retailers can offer online to help consumers find products
participating in Upromise. As consumers create their shopping lists
online via their grocery store Web sites, GSN's
software identifies all participating items in the Upromise program,
helping consumers to maximize their Upromise earnings.
Grocery Shopping and College Saving Made Simple
GSN-powered grocery store Web sites allow consumers to save money and
time by planning their shopping trips online, where they can view
circular ads and in-store promotions; build, print and save grocery
lists; retrieve and print manufacturer and store coupons; and browse
more than 64,000 recipes and 160 cooking videos.
"More shoppers than ever use online tools to
plan and execute their shopping chores, and that's
why we've developed dynamic online
capabilities for grocery store Web sites – to
make grocery shopping easier and more convenient than ever,"
said Andy Robinson, CEO, Grocery Shopping Network. "By
partnering with Upromise, we can extend that service by bringing
attention to this fantastic organization that is serving an important
need – the challenge of paying for college."
"With Grocery Shopping Network's
technology it's easier to select and buy
Upromise participating products and maximize the opportunity to earn
college savings on grocery purchases," said
Ronnie Perchik, senior vice president, Upromise. "This
program can help Upromise members earn the most college savings for
their grocery spending, and spread the word about the importance of
saving for college and how participating in Upromise can give you a
helping hand." A complete list of grocery
stores, corporations and products participating in Upromise can be found
at www.upromise.com.
About Upromise
Launched in April 2001, today Upromise is the largest private source of
college funding contributions in America, with more than 8 million
members and $400 million in member rewards. Membership is free and can
help families save money for college while making everyday purchases of
products and services at more than 21,000 grocery and drug stores,
14,000 gas stations, 8,000 restaurants, as well as thousands of retail
stores, and more than 575 online shopping sites. Upromise partners
include Citi®, ExxonMobil Corporation, Bed
Bath & Beyond®, McDonald's®,
JCPenney.com, LandsEnd.com, Sears.com and hundreds of others. Upromise
also makes it easy for families to start their own college savings
strategy through tax-advantaged 529 college savings plans offered
through Upromise Investments, Inc. or by using Upromise contributions to
help pay down eligible student loans. Upromise is a wholly owned
subsidiary of SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM), commonly known as Sallie Mae,
the nation's leading provider of
saving-and-paying-for-college programs. Upromise is headquartered in
Newton, Mass., and has more than 350 employees. For additional
information, visit www.upromise.com.
About Grocery Shopping Network
Grocery Shopping Network provides grocery retailers'
Web sites with a suite of proprietary software products that integrate
shopping list building, recipes and meal planning with relevant, focused
advertising content. GSN (www.groceryshopping.net)
brings together the Web and in-store supermarket shopping experience. A
GSN-powered site enables consumers to seamlessly shop their store, be
presented with sales and promotions in the context of the items they are
planning to purchase, access and save recipes for the items they plan to
purchase, plan meals and utilize the many discount offers (including
coupons) made available by brand manufacturers.
January 28, 2008Festival Foods Quadruples Web Views with Grocery Shopping Network
Wisconsin-based Festival Foods broke grocery store Web site traffic records last year primarily using Grocery Shopping Network (GSN), a leading provider of proprietary software for grocery store retailers. Total page views of the Festival Foods Web site, FestFoods.com, surpassed 12 million, more than four times the volume it saw in 2006.
GSN is the first grocery store Web platform to offer consumers an integrated online tool for creating grocery lists, accessing manufacturer and in-store coupons and much more. Using the system, FestFoods.com currently attracts approximately 7,000 unique customer visits (per store) at any given time, a 25.7 percent increase from 2006. Additionally, because the service includes consumer customization features designed especially for repeat users, shoppers who begin using the service are likely to return to the retailer's Web site time and time again.
"The grocery industry continues to grow increasingly competitive, yet remains slow to change, even in the online information age," said Tom Wilkolak, CEO, Grocery Shopping Network. "While some of the biggest retailers have the lowest Web site views per store location, GSN-powered grocer Web sites are generating the highest viewership in the industry --a testament to the competitive value that the program provides."
With GSN, grocery consumers shop weekly ads and in-store specials, build shopping lists, plan meals, discover recipes and cooking videos, source dietary guidance and print discount coupons. Additionally, shoppers can save their lists so that each time they log on they can start with a pre-existing list of regularly purchased products and personalized coupons. While GSN offers convenience to consumers, it also gives grocers an abundance of data to help them better track and predict consumer buying behavior. More than a thousand stores across the country are using the GSN service, including 12 Festival Foods locations.
"The partnership between GSN and Festival Foods is the solution that turned FestFoods.com into an integral part of many of our guests' shopping experiences," said Nick Arlt, director of public relations and Internet services, Festival Foods. "Now, we are leading the grocery industry by providing shoppers an interactive shopping tool allowing them to save money in a variety of ways and create a virtual shopping list."
GSN helps transform a retailer's Web site into a virtual version of its brick and mortar store -- one that customers can personalize and bring directly into their homes. For Festival Foods, GSN has helped create personalized virtual stores for each of its 7,000 unique visitors per location. In comparison, many larger retail chains are only able to create 300 virtual stores per location.
"The differentiator is that the GSN solution takes all of our elements that make shopping easy and integrates them in a way that makes the shopper's experience seamless," said Arlt. "It's what keeps them coming back week after week."
November 14, 2007Innovative Grocery Store Web Services Provider Expands Nationally With Pathmark and Giant Foods
VantagePoint Venture Partners Provides Expansion Funding; Early DoubleClick Founder and Former Chairman of MySpace's Parent Intermix Media David Carlick Joins the Board
Grocery Shopping Network (GSN), a leading provider of proprietary software to grocery store retailers, announced that it will expand its unique Web-based program to all Pathmark and Giant Foods stores. GSN software supports grocers' Web sites, enabling them to provide their customers with innovative, online time and money-saving features such as the ability to view circular ads and in-store promotions; build, print and save grocery lists; retrieve and print manufacturer and store coupons; and browse more than 64,000 recipes and 160 cooking videos.
GSN has successfully implemented its program with several regional grocers, including California-based Save Mart, Virginia-based Ukrop's and Wisconsin-based Festival Foods. In each case, retailers have reported high levels of customer participation and significant increases in sales. With the addition of all Pathmark stores and Giant Foods, GSN-supported Web sites will serve more than 1,000 stores across the country and have the potential of reaching more than 10 million consumers/households.
"Grocery Shopping Network is simplifying the shopping experience for customers and transforming the way grocery retailers and consumer packaged goods companies interact with their customers," said Tom Wilkolak, CEO, Grocery Shopping Network. "Consumers no longer need to fumble with clipping coupons or keep track of handwritten shopping lists. Product promotions and discounts are relevant to a customer's shopping history, and as a result, they are more loyal to their store and more likely to try new products and services."
"Grocery Shopping Network's services have helped us increase sales and build greater customer loyalty," said Dick Rinehart, owner, Dick's Fresh Markets. "As the grocery industry grows increasingly competitive, the GSN system is allowing us to gain greater basket share while providing a more enjoyable shopping experience for the customer." Rinehart has more than 25 years of experience in the grocery industry, and serves as an independent store advisor to SuperValu.
To help fund the expansion and develop new services and applications, VantagePoint Venture Partners has provided $7 million in equity financing. VantagePoint is a leading venture capital firm focused on investments in bold, entrepreneurial companies with ideas that will transform their industries. Additionally, David Carlick, managing director of VantagePoint, has joined GSN's board of directors. Carlick, a widely recognized leader in online media and marketing, was an early co-founder of DoubleClick and former chairman of MySpace.com's parent company, Intermix Media.
"When I saw what GSN offers to consumers, their grocers and food companies, I could say after years of investing, I have finally found the best thing since sliced bread," said Carlick. "For the growing number of consumers who shop first by using their computer, GSN brings grocery shopping to their screens in a way that is almost magical."
Chicago-based investment banking firm Houlihan Smith & Company served as financial advisor.
In addition, GSN has six patents published.
September 26, 2007Paper or Silicon?
Amazon.com Inc. recently launched an online grocery store in the Seattle area, testing a model that fizzled during the dot-com bust but has revived in recent years. Now brick-and-mortar supermarkets are increasingly paying attention to the Internet as a way to drive customers to their stores.
One company, Grocery Shopping Network Inc., is selling software that lets grocers enhance their Web sites with a variety of services. Customers can create shopping lists, find recipes and access meal-planning services. The software also points shoppers in the direction of coupons and advertising based on what items they plan to purchase. The company says 70% of customers visiting a site that uses its software make shopping lists, and 94% of the items placed on the lists are eventually purchased.
PathMark Stores Inc. and Giant Brands Inc. are among the grocers who have integrated the software into their sites. Grocery Shopping Network earns revenue from licensing the software and from advertisers. The Minneapolis start-up ended 11 bootstrapping years by raising an $8.05 million Series A investment last month, led by VantagePoint Venture Partners.
August 16, 2007GSN Drives Website Traffic
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to generate awareness of your website. Use tactics like these to boost traffic:
In-store coupon: Offer a high-value coupon obtainable only at your website. Example: $5 off with a $35 or $50 qualifying purchase. Use the newly enhanced and integrated In-Store coupon administration functionality to build your coupon.
Build a shopping list promotion: Incent your shoppers to make a shopping list online, print it, and redeem it at checkout. Using their printed list as the entry form, hold a prize drawing or sweepstakes.
GSN can assist in your marketing efforts. For example, we can help insert a promotional message and bar code on the header of the printed shopping list. Call us for more ideas – we’ve got lots of them.
August 16, 2007GSN Continues to Grow
Investors love GSNConnect almost as much as shoppers do. Their strong financial support reflects the industry-wide recognition GSN has won for connecting grocers and shoppers in ways that benefit both parties.
The combination of investor, retailer and brand support has enabled GSNConnect to claim a unique position of leadership in grocery store web marketing. Moreover, it has laid the foundation for continuous improvement and long-term growth.
As household broadband approaches 70% penetration and an internet-savvy generation begins to raise families, GSN’s proprietary solutions enable grocers to reach their most important shoppers with the right message, in the right place, at the right time. |
